“Ah, life- the thing that happens to us while we’re off somewhere else blowing on dandelions & wishing ourselves into the pages of our favorite fairy tales.”

A poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves as a note to the reader & all of humankind. Explores life & all of its love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, & inspirations.

I liked this collection so much more than I expected to! One of the criticisms I had of the last collection of poetry I read (which was written in a similar style) was that it didn’t stab me in the heart. It didn’t really make me feel anything. This collection definitely stabbed me in the heart, but it also made me really happy.

You shine brighter than all the starlight there has ever been or ever will be.

2016 Goodreads Choice Award-winning poet Amanda Lovelace returns in the witch doesn’t burn in this one — the bold second book in her “women are some kind of magic” series.

The witch: supernaturally powerful, inscrutably independent, and now—indestructible. These moving, relatable poems encourage resilience and embolden women to take control of their own stories. Enemies try to judge, oppress, and marginalize her, but the witch doesn’t burn in this one.

Unpopular opinion: I did not like this collection at all. The Princess felt real and natural and honest, but The Witch was just exhausting. There’s so much anger, so much hate, so many generalizations that I was just sad and tired when I finished it. I 100% consider myself a feminist and I don’t think that this collection represents my values at all.

Wanting to burn men instead of women at the stake isn’t feminism, and it just fuels the anti-feminist fires that are, quite honestly, already strong enough.

Have you read either of these books? Are you planning to?Let’s talk in the comments!

I’m surprised you loved Princess and not Witch, I felt kind of backwards haha! I found Witch empowering and sort of energizing, but I also went to a women’s college for four years so I’m used to the “anger” at women’s lot in life. But I can definitely see how it could be abrasive if you’re not used to that! I know she has a new collection coming out soon, I can’t wait to read it, even though I know nothing about it lol 🙂

I have only read The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One and thought it was just okay. I also found it really angry and decided to skip reading the first one. After seeing your reviews I think I am going to give it a chance. Thanks!

I loved The Princess (just finished reading it!) and thought about reading her second collection, but after reading your review (and other’s comments agreeing), I think I’ll pass. Thanks for the helpful review!!

I haven’t read The Princess yet, but I did read The Witch. I liked it well enough, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked. There was definitely a great deal of anger that I wasn’t ready for.

I agree with what you said about wanting to burn men at the stake. Every time these “crazy” people come out and claim to be feminists, it undermines the actual movement. I’m not a super fan of poetry collections, but I might have to check out The Princess Saves Herself in This One!

Thank you for these reviews! I’ve had these floating around my periphery for a while but haven’t added them to my TBR but after reading your reviews I’ll make sure that I do. I’ll want to read both I think because I feel like you can’t read one without the other.

I read a poetry collection last year which I think is in the same vein – Burn the Fairy Tales by Adeline Whitmore – but I gave it two stars. It sounds like Burn and The Witch are very similar in tone so I’ll definitely read The Witch for comparison.

I found Burn to be the same way that you are describing The Witch – it was more man hating than woman empowering and whilst I do enjoy and can appreciate the angry side of feminism (because there’s a lot to be angry about and there is still so much to be worth getting angry about) it didn’t seem like it was justified in its anger, it just seemed to be about hating men and slating women who might enjoy the company of men. And yeah… I’m 100% feminist until the day I die but it was a bitter taste.

Oh, I totally agree! There’s a ton to be angry about these days but sometimes that anger seems misdirected toward men in general and not the actual root of the problem. I would be really interested to read Burn the Fairy tales to see how it compares!